I grew up going to the beaches in Ocean City, Maryland. If you’ve never been to OCMD it is a unique place full of mini-golf and the smell of fresh donuts. I loved it there as a child and still get a warm feeling when I return as an adult.
Moving to the Jersey Shore five years ago, I thought I’d replicate my own childhood beach days for my kids. That is until I spent my first day at Spring Lake beach and realized some parts of Jersey are quite a different scene. Don’t get me wrong, the endless miles of pristine sand and surf provide a unique and dreamy kind of summer bliss, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the mini-golf and fried dough smell of my childhood.
Somehow that first summer, I discovered Jenkinson’s Boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach and it was as if I was going home. Jenks, as we now lovingly refer to it, has everything my three kids (and I) could want, and it’s only 35 minutes away (15 from those pristine Spring Lake shores).
There really is something for everyone at Jenkinson’s. The Baby loves the aquarium and honestly on hot, hot days so do I! The Middle One is a roller coaster fiend and The Girl just enjoys challenging us all at mini-golf. You can also get beach badges and there is more fried-dough in various forms than you can shake a stick at. Of course, if I decide to be nice mommy, there are also a million and one games the kids love to play and arcades as well. I dangle those carrots in extreme circumstances as there are plenty of video games in our house, we don’t need them on the boards!
This year, I’m proud to say that I am an Jenkinson’s Ambassador. This means my family and I will continue our annual pilgrimages to our favorite boardwalk but this summer we’ll write about them and share our adventures via social media. Watch for us at the #JenksAmbassador hasthag (yes, hashtag, Jimmy Fallon. Deal.). As part of this program I get to give away a family pass to Jenks to one of my lucky readers! So, click on the Jenk’s button here or on the side of this blog
for more information about all the great programs they have running this summer (movies on the beach, wristband days) and then stay tuned for that giveaway later in the summer if you live anywhere in the tri-state. Jenkinson’s is worth the drive, no matter how many miles! I mean, fried dough people.
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